A drop in first time applications for unemployment benefits lifted the markets to a sharply higher open with the Dow soaring 142 points to 15,641. Nasdaq surged 37 points to 3663.
On the upside
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BCRX) priced its public offering of 4 million common shares at the discounted price of $4.40 per share.
Second quarter earnings and revenue climbed for Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP) to surpass analyst expectations.
Yelp (NYSE: YELP) narrowed second quarter losses more than expected as revenue climbed.
On the downside
Entropic (Nasdaq: ENTR) fell to a loss for the second quarter as revenue dropped.
Sally Beauty (NYSE: SBH) reported higher third quarter earnings and revenue but the results fell short of estimates.
SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) swung to a profit for the second quarter but the company forecast current quarter revenue below expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 leaped 17 points to 1702.
